Carpet



May 23, 1944- v. H. BoDLE 2,349,236

CARPET Filed Sept. 15, 1941 Patented May 23, 1944 CARPET Virgil H.Bodle, Mishawaka, Ind., assignor to Mishawaka Rubber and WoolenManufacturing Company, Mishawaka, Ind., a corporation of IndianaApplication September 15, 1941, Serial No. 410,903

7 Claims.

My invention relates to oor coverings and has reference moreparticularly to the combining of different types of fibrous materialswith each other and with a bonding medium to provide an improved floorcovering having the appearance and advantages of a pile carpet.

Within comparatively recent years the search for new floor coverings,especially such as would be suitable for use in automobiles, has beenparticularly active. Among the requirements of a floor covering suitablefor use in automobiles, are the following: it must be a good heat andsound insulator, capable of withstanding hard Wear, unaffected bymoisture, and should preferably have the fee1 underfoot of a good rug,and be capable of being easily cleaned. In addition to the abovefeatures, which may be considered as being inherent in the articleitself, it should be adapted to quantity production in every stage ofits manufacture down to the finished rug ready to place on the floor ofthe automobile or such other place as it may be used, and shouldpreferably be very reasonable in price.

Now the prime object of my invention is to provide an improved cushionedfioor covering which is pleasing in appearance, possesses good wearingqualities, and is economical in manw facture.

Another object is to provide a novel cushioned pile-like carpet which iscomposite but integrated by reason of the fact that the fibres of afelted cushion base are combined with the fibres of a simulated piletread surface through a fabric in the presence of a bonding agent.

A further object of the invention is to provide a composite unitaryfloor covering in which fibres of a cushion base, individual fibres of asimulated 4pile tread surface, and an intermediate fabric are allsubstantially integrally bonded together in an intermingled zone withinthe body of the floor covering.

With these and other objects in view the inventioncomprises the novelcombination and arrangement of elements and methods of producing thesame hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, and particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended, itbeing understood that various changes in the size, proportion and minordetails of arrangement, and manners of effecting same, may be made,within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from thespirit of the invention or sacricing any of the advantages thereof.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan View, on a somewhat enlarged scale, showinga portion of a floor covering embodying the features of my invention,parts thereof being broken away to show the underlying construction;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through a portion of acushioned base and overlying fabric; as they would appear in an earlystage of the manufacture of the floor covering hereof;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 showing fibres of the basepunched through the fabric in a further stage of manufacture;

Fig. 4 is a similar sectional view showing a layer of cement appliedwhich bonds the fibres of the base to the fabric in a still further stepof manufacture and serves as the adhesive for attaching the pile fibres;and

Fig. 5 is a similar sectional view still further enlarged showing afibrous surface applied in the final step of assembling the componentparts of the product hereof.

Generally speaking, the novel floor covering or carpet hereof, as seenin Fig. 1, comprises a floor engaging cushion base I0 of substantialthickness formed of matted or felted animal and/or vegetable fibres, areinforcing layer Il of fabric applied thereover in a manner so thatfibres or strands I2 of the pad Ill penetrate and extend through thereinforcing fabric and are interengaged and enmeshed with the threads I3thereof, and a tread layer simulating a pile surfaceand composed ofindividual upstanding fibres I4 of appreciable length applied over thereinforcing layer II by means of cement, preferably a rub,- ber cement.For the purpose of clarity of illustration, this cement is not shown inFig. 1 because actually, in the finished product hereof, there is noclearly defined distinguishable layer of cement, as the fibres I2 of thebase, the threads I3 of the fabric layer, the ends of the pile fibresI4, and the cement binding agent all become one substantially integralintermingled mass or zone within the body of the carpet. The cement forbinding the component elements of the present carpet into one integratedstructure or mass is shown, however, in exaggerated fashion, at l5 inFigs. 4 and 5 of the drawing. Thus, from an inspection of the latterfigure particularly, it will be readily appreciated how the strands orfibres I2 of the base pad III penetrate the fabric II and are enmeshedwith the threads I3 thereof and are also commingled and entangled withthe ends of the pile fibres Il, the whole zone of such enmeshing andcommingling being permeated and integrally bonded by the cement I5.

The fabric II may be of any type suitable for the purpose, a coarse openmesh fabric such as burlap or Osnaburg being preferred, and the fibrousbase I is punched thereto in well known manner so that strands or tuftsof the fibres of the base I0 project through and above the fabric II tobond therewith and to the cement and fibrous surfacing that is providedon the top of the fabric. Obviously with an open mesh fabric II, theattachment of the fibrous base does not depend entirely upon the strandsor tufts thereof that are. punched through the fabric Il as the cement Ialso bonds to the base through the interstices of the fabric and thelatter accordingly is cemented to the base as well as combined therewithby the punching.

For the purpose of illustrating a manner in which the above describedfloor covering may be manufactured, Figs. 2 to 5, inclusive, showstructures or arrangements resulting from various stages in themanufacturing procedure. Starting with Fig. 2, a relatively coarse openweave fabric II, which is preferably burlap of a weight of about 6ounces per square yard but may conveniently be other suitable material,such as paper twine cloth or Osnaburg, is applied to one side of thecushion base II) comprising a padding of matted or felted fibres. Thesefibres may be of animal or vegetable origin, or a mixture thereof, butare preferably vegetable fibres as exemplified by the well known jutefelting.

This fibrous base I0 is punched to the fabric I I in a manner known inthe art, with the result, as seen in Fig. 3, that fibres I2 of the baseIll are punched or needled through the interstlces of the fabric II ininterengagement with the threads I3 thereof. This punching of the fibresthrough the fabric II produces on the fabric side of the base a somewhatfuzzy or tufted brous surface which is excellently adapted to receive acoating of cement or the like.

The coating of cement, representing the next manufacturing stage in thepreferred practice, is seen in somewhat exaggerated fashion at I5 inFig. 4. It can be applied in any suitable manner as by spraying or bythe use of a doctor blade, not shown, in a well known manner. The use ofa doctor blade or comparable wiping means in the application of thecement has a desirable action in smoothing the upstanding punched fibresI2 and causing them to better overlie and engage the strands I3 of thefabric.

, The cement used for this purpose is preferably composed of arubber'compound in a suitable volatile solvent and may contain one ormore resins to provide a soft strongly adhesive coating.

While the cement coating is still soft I distribute over the cementedsurface of the base individual cut fibres I4 of appreciable length, asdistinguished from the comminuted or substantially powdered fiock ofcommerce, and preferably employ fibres which are relatively straight andof some body, such as goat hair or the like.

The fibres are preferably applied to the cemented surface I5 b'yimpelling them with some force in an endwise direction against and intothe cemented surface so as to be actually commingled with the fibres I2punched up from the base, as clearly seen in Fig. 5. A method of s0applying fibres to a cemented surface is disclosed in the co-pendingapplication Serial No. 310,112, filed December 20, 1939, of Virgil H.Bodle and George W. Blair, assigned to the same assignee as the presentapplication. As another means of depositing the fibres on the cementcoated base aeaaasc I may sift or otherwise loosely distribute thefibres on the surface while simultaneously rapidly vibrating the basematerial in a direction perpendicular to its face as by means ofmechanically operated beaters of a type which are also described in theabove mentioned co-pending application.

After a required application of the fibres Il is made to the adhesivecoated surface I5, the material is preferably heated in a suitablemanner to evaporate the volatiles from the cement. and to vulcanize therubber content thereof when a rubber cement is employed.

While the general appearance of the fibres to one standing on the rug,or observing it from the normal distances in excess of a few feet, issimilar to that of a pile carpet with entirely upstanding pile, inactual structure, the fibres of my new product do have some divergencefrom each other in the manner indicated in Fig. 5.

By forcibly tearing loose a portion of the flocked upstanding fibresfrom the fabric and felt base, fibres I2 of the base are seen to bedrawn up through the interstices of the fabric while such fibres of thebase material and portions of the fabric threads I3 are seen projectingfrom the ruptured surface of the cement, showing that there is actuallyan embedded bonding of these fibres in the cement coating. Since thefibres I4 of the surfacing material are also bonded in the cement thereresults a prod uct which for all practical purposes is a unitarystructure.

The jute or cattle hair felt and the open weave fabric used in making mynew floor covering are both extremely inexpensive products and the cuthair or fibre of the surfacing material is likewise low in price. Whilethe cement used is preferably of high quality, it is required in suchsmall amounts as to add but little to the cost of the finished product.

My new floor covering is easily fabricated in large quantities, beingpreferably made in long y the scope of which isv to be determined by theappended claims.

' I claim as my invention:

l. A floor covering comprising a fibrousv cushion base, a substantiallyupstanding fibrous tread surface simulating pile fabric secured thereto,an interposed woven fabric having fibres from the base penetrating intoand through the fabric, and an adhesive bond within the body of' saidfloor covering and having fibres of the tread surface, of the base, andthe fabric combined therewith.

2. A floor covering comprising. a ply of open woven fabric, a ply offelted fibres at one side of the fabric and having strands thereofextending through the interstices of said fabric, an adhesive coatingover the opposite side of said fabric and embracingsaid strands, andpile material carried by said coating, said pile material beingindividual upstanding fibres having ends commingled with said strandsand embedded in said coating.

3.- A oor covering comprising` a ply of open woven fabric, a ply offelted bres at one side of the fabric and having strands thereofextending through the interstices of said fabric, pile material at theopposite side of said fabric, said pile material being individualupstanding bres having ends commingled with said strands, and a bondingagent permeating the zone of such commingling and the fabric.

4. The method of making a floor covering which comprises punching apadding of felted fibres to one side of an open weave fabric so thatfibres thereof project through the fabric out the other sidethereof,'spreading a coating of a cement containing rubber and a solventon the latter side of said fabric, applying a layer of upstandingindividual fibres in simulation of pile fabric in partial endwiseembedded engagement in said cement, and subjecting the product to heatto dry the cement and vulcanize the rubber component thereof, saidcement serving to lock the punch-through bers to the fabric and toanchor the pile fibers.

5. The method of making a oor covering which comprises punching a.padding of felted'fibres to one side of an open woven fabric, spreadinga coating of cement on the other side of said fabric, and impellingindividual bres with substantial force in an endwise direction againstvand into said cement whereby their ends are commingled with said punchedthrough bres within said cement.

6. 'I'he method of making a floor covering which comprises punching afelted brous base to an open woven fabric so that fibers of the basepenetrate through the fabric, spreading a rubber adhesive over saidfabric to saturate the fabric and the penetrant fibers, impelling.individual fibers with substantial force in an endwise direction againstand into said adhesive while vibrating the assembly, whereby the ends ofsaid bers and the penetrant bers of the base are commingled in the zoneof the adhesive, and subjecting the product to heat to cure the|adhesive.

7. A floor covering comprising a felted fibrous base, a woven fabricAsurmounting said base and needled thereto whereby a plurality of fibersfrom

